Power outage hits city's Far West Side

A power outage has left more than 1,000 homes and businesses on Syracuse's Far West Side without electricity, said Steve Brady, National Grid spokesman.

Power company officials are blaming "a suicidal squirrel" for interfering with the transformers at a substation, he said.

Workers were trying to restore the power, which was first reported shortly after 10 a.m. Many had power back on by 11:30, said Brady. Some of those affected included the Burnet Park Zoo, Catholic Charities and Western Lights, he said.

As of 1:45 p.m., power had been restored in all but several dozen homes or businesses, he said.